Salsa legend, presidential candidate, thinker and comic-book collector: who is Rubén Blades? This candid, surprising portrait of the salsa singer provides insight into his life. Featuring archival footage and interviews with colleagues and admirers, including Andy Montañez, Sting and Paul Simon.

This feature debut by director, writer and producer Xavi Sala tells the story of a young, indigenous Zapotec girl (Sótera Cruz) and her mother Lidia (Érika López), who move from their Oaxacan village to take up work with an upper-class family in Mexico City.

A captivating, Spanish-language thriller by Iranian film master Asghar Farhadi, featuring acting royalty Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. What starts off as a romantic wedding party soon becomes a nerve-wracking kidnapping drama. To get her daughter back alive, Laura has to get help from family and friends, which promptly reveals all manner of secrets.

Mauro Colombo’s urgent documentary feature debut shows the filmmaker immersing himself in the Darién Gap, a dense and mysterious jungle that divides Panama and Colombia. At the dangerous border between these two countries, guerrillas, immigrants, indigenous people, farmers, drug traffickers, local police, and wild animals cross paths.

At the Israeli border when Salem mentions that he works on a popular TV series, the checkpoint official demands a more pro-Jewish twist to the romance in the soap. However this turns out to be easier said than done. A surprisingly light and comical way of capturing the Arab-Israeli conflict, which nevertheless tackles a painful truth.

A former bodybuilder perks up when he gets the chance to train a young athlete, an overweight receptionist uses her sexy voice to seduce men on the telephone and a downcast religious singer decides to become a wedding entertainer. Three stories about love and loneliness in Tehran, in a film full of drily comic moments.